Solar powered evaporative cooled storage structure for storage of fruits and vegetables

Mansuri, Shekh Mukhtar; Sharma, P.K.; Samuel, D V K

doi:10.56093/ijas.v86i7.59825

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 7 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Evaporative cooling (EC) is one of the most promising passive cooling techniques, which is affordable, energy‐efficient, and can be made from locally available quality materials (Patel et al, 2022). Various models of EC systems have been developed, and efforts have been made to adopt them at the farmer level (Awafo et al, 2020; Kenghe et al, 2015; Mansuri et al, 2016; Mogaji & Fapetu, 2011; Ogbuagu et al, 2017; Sharma et al, 2017). However, ECs have several limitations to achieve the desired levels of efficiency.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modeling and optimization of integrated earth air heat exchanger and direct evaporative cooling system using ANN and RSM approaches for preserving fruits and vegetables

Nishad,

Mangaraj

2023

J Food Process Engineering

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Conventional air‐conditioned storage systems are more energy intensive which requires a consistent supply of electricity. Apart from this, it is costly and not suitable in remote areas where electricity is almost inaccessible. Therefore, the present study aimed to test the performance and feasibility of an integrated earth air heat exchanger and direct evaporative cooling system for storage of fruits and vegetables. The effects of air velocity (4–6 m/s), water flow rate (0.032–0.096 kg/s), and thickness of the cooling pad (50–150 mm) with corresponding responses were investigated in order to develop response surface methodology (RSM) and artificial neural network (ANN) models and compared them to predict temperature drop and humidity rise. Using RSM model, the optimum values for maximum temperature drop (16.80°C) and humidity rise (70.85%) within a range of input variables were found to be 4 m/s air velocity, 0.065 kg/s water flow rate, and 150 mm thickness of the cooling pad. For predicting the temperature drop and humidity rise, the higher (0.992 and 0.998) lower MAE (0.045 and 0.064), RMSE (0.187 and 0.266), and values (0.028 and 0.001) were observed in the ANN model. The developed ANN model was better than RSM models, and the model prediction was in good agreement with experiment values within the range of ±5% uncertainty. The results of this study indicate that the proposed cooling system can be successfully applied to store horticultural commodities.Practical ApplicationIntroduced hybrid cooling technique is low‐cost and eco‐friendly, and can be commercially used for on‐farm storage of fruits and vegetables to enhance their shelf life. The system is helpful for smallholder farmers/retailers to maintain the quality of the commodity during storage, minimize post‐harvest losses, and fetch good market value for the commodity.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modeling and optimization of integrated earth air heat exchanger and direct evaporative cooling system using ANN and RSM approaches for preserving fruits and vegetables

Nishad,

Mangaraj

2023

J Food Process Engineering

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Development of a portable small wind turbine for integration into a mobile cooling technology

Mthethwa,

Workneh,

Kassim

2024

Sustainable Energy res.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In this study, a small wind turbine prototype was developed to provide electric power for a mobile cooling unit The aim of this study was to design and develop a 600-W small wind turbine that can generate electric energy to power a mobile cooling unit used for the storage of fruits and vegetables, mainly for the benefit of smallholder farmers. Smallholder farmers suffer from high postharvest losses, approximated at 50%, some of which can be avoided by using efficient low-cost cooling units, rather than open transport. Cooling slows down the metabolic rate which consequently extends the produce's shelf life and prevents spoilage, allowing farmers to provide high-quality produce to the market. This could potentially increase the farmers’ monetary returns. The study was conducted in KwaZulu-Natal on the road that stretches between Pietermaritzburg and Estcourt. The wind turbine is made of a 600-mm-diameter rotor with three PVC blades, a permanent magnet synchronous generator, a bridge rectifier, a 230-V AC inverter and a battery for energy storage. The wind turbine was tested against three vehicle speeds of 60, 80, and 100 km h−1, and the two opening levels, level 1 at 45$$^\circ$$ ∘ and level 2 at 80$$^\circ$$ ∘ relative to the louvre mechanism frame. The results of this study revealed that the power generated by the wind turbine is greatly influenced (p < 0.001) by both the vehicle travelling speed and louvre opening level. The power output of 113.4, 159.6 and 210.0 W per hour was observed for the vehicle speeds of 60, 80 and 100 km h−1, respectively, on louvre opening level 1. The power output of 142.8 W h−1, 268.8 W h−1 and 294.0 W h−1 were observed for a wind speed of 60 km h−1, 80 km h−1, and 100 km h−1, respectively, on Louvre opening level 2. This shows that higher wind speeds (vehicle speeds) produce high-power output which accounts for the small size of the wind turbine rotor. A maximum power coefficient of 0.49 was achieved for this study. The wind turbine can generate the power required to run a cooling technology to a limited extent, thus must have a backup power supply from the diesel engine or be used in a hybrid system.

show abstract

Solar powered evaporative cooled storage structure for storage of fruits and vegetables

Cited by 2 publications

References 7 publications

Modeling and optimization of integrated earth air heat exchanger and direct evaporative cooling system using ANN and RSM approaches for preserving fruits and vegetables

Modeling and optimization of integrated earth air heat exchanger and direct evaporative cooling system using ANN and RSM approaches for preserving fruits and vegetables

Development of a portable small wind turbine for integration into a mobile cooling technology

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About